As many of your know, I am participating in the Dow Live Earth Run for Water on April 18. It's when I see things like the battle over the Chesapeake Clean Water Act that I feel compelled to participate. Dubbed by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation as the Biggest Fight for Clean Water the United States has seen, this Act seeks to turnaround decades of neglect.

As a long-term DC metro area resident (since '92), I have had the great fortune of enjoying many visits to Annapolis and other parts of the Chesapeake (image by chesbayprogram). Watching the continued deterioration of the Bay's environmental treasures has been a hard nut to swallow.

Perhaps the hardest part of it is the EPA's obvious neglect, in spite of it being less than 20 miles from Washington, DC and all of government lands touching the Bay itself. It's been clear that the federal, state and local governments concerned have failed to protect this precious resource.

That's why it's critical to support the Chesapeake Clean Water Act by donating, and more importantly, putting pressure on your elected representatives. The act adds crucial new protections and funds to ensure the rehabilitation and conservation of the Chesapeake Bay.

In addition to writing my Congressional representatives, when I Run for Water I will be doing so for the Bay. To make my point, I will wear a Blue Crab Tee during the run. The crab is the epitome of the Bay's beauty, and all that we have to lose if we don't turn back the tide of pollution.

Geoff Livingston is a regular contributor to the Live Earth blog.